PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY
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The first official step in selecting the U.S. Olympic crews for the Paris Games runs Thursday to Saturday at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. Racing in either singles or pairs, 73 women and 69 men completed 1,900-meter time trials to determine six-lane heats—quarterfinals for the larger, single scull fields and semifinals for the pairs.
Lightweight sculler Molly Reckford, a Tokyo Olympian in the women’s lightweight double, won the combined open and lightweight singles time trial Thursday morning and then set the fastest time in the afternoon quarterfinals.
“I don’t know how this is happening,” said Reckford. “There are some damn fast women in this race and I have no doubt they’ll just get faster over the next couple of days.”
Sorin Koszyk continued his winning streak in the single, finishing first in the men’s single time trial and his quarterfinal. Ben Davison and Michael Knippen both posted 6:56 times, the fastest of the day, in winning their respective quarterfinals.
Racing continues Friday with semifinals for both pairs and singles, as well as the E through H finals. A through D finals are scheduled for Saturday morning. The top three finishers in each A final will receive automatic invitations to the Olympic selection camp.
